DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO  Myrtle Cole and Marti Emerald endorsed fellow City Councilmember David Alvarez for mayor Monday, saying their Democratic colleague has the integrity and honesty to lead San Diego.

The councilwomen said Alvarez has a history of helping the city, including its neediest residents.

“Time and time again, David Alvarez has done the right thing for the city of San Diego,” said Emerald at a City Hall news conference. “He is a person who has a track record, a track record we can all respect.”

Cole said she was looking for “someone I could trust,” and that led her to Alvarez.

She added that he cares about the economic success of all San Diegans. “Growth and development for all communities in San Diego is David’s vision,” Cole said. She praised his work on public safety, infrastructure, and neighborhood services like libraries, parks and recreation, and said his vision “moves the city forward economically.”

Alvarez supports mixed-use and transit-oriented developments, affordable housing, and commercial revitalization, Cole said. He will also work with banks and builders to clean up foreclosed residences and run down commercial buildings.

Like Alvarez, the two are identified with the progressive wing of the local Democratic Party.

Emerald began her endorsement by admitting some initial “trepidation” about Alvarez’s youth. At 33, Alvarez is the youngest candidate. Former mayor Bob Filner is 70.

But Alvarez proved he is “mature and intelligent beyond his years,” she said. She gave a recent example, when Alvarez mediated a dispute between Filner and the city’s tourism marketing industry. “He didn’t have to do that, but he did it because he is a leader,” Emerald said.

Filner left office Aug. 30 amid a sexual harassment scandal, resulting in the special election Nov. 19 to replace him.

Other mayoral candidates also collected endorsements Sunday and Monday.

The San Diego Port Tenants Association, a coalition of businesses, praised Kevin Faulconer Monday for being “a man of his word” whose “principal-based decision making, his willingness to listen and consider diverse positions, and his professional integrity have made him a trusted, respected leader,” said Sharon Bernie-Cloward, the group’s president, according to a campaign statement.